The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki
by The Exiled Darkness
Summary: When the Kyuubi was set free on the tenth of October, would you expect the Shinigami to intervene? What would happen when a blue eyed boy makes his mark on the future. This is the story of Naruto Uzumaki. AU
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

**Chapter 1- The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki**

**Authors Note: This is my first real story so I hope you all enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

The Elemental Nations… the land whose name came from the elements, the land of the strong, the land of the shinobi; at least that's what people who live there describe themselves as…

Many lifetimes have passed since the battle between the Rikudo Sennin and the Juubi. The wars waged throughout the years as a never ending cycle. This time was known as the Warring States Period. This time was an extremely long and bloody period in history where many shinobi clans fought in constant battle.

Two men known as Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha created the first ninja village which goes by the name Konohagakure, otherwise known as the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Many others followed their example and created other hidden villages such as Kumogakure and Sunagakure, Cloud and Sand respectively.

After many more years, in the walls of Konoha a child was going to be born. The child's name was Naruto Uzumaki. He was son of the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze and the Red-Hot Habanero Kushina Uzumaki. Although this was supposed to be a happy day, a masked man snuck into the village and removed the Kyuubi from its Jinchuuriki, Kushina Uzumaki. The masked man then hypnotized the tailed beast and ordered it to attack Konoha. Minato was able to defeat the masked man but in the end, was forced to seal the Kyuubi into a new container- his son; Naruto.

* * *

Middle of the Forest

A flash of yellow appeared in an empty forest clearing. From the flash a man appeared panting heavily while carrying a woman holding a small newborn. From behind them was the remaining rubble of the storehouse that was crushed by a large fox with nine tails.

The blond man was known as Minato Namikaze, Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure. In his arms was his wife, Kushina Uzumaki and his newborn child Naruto. "… Are you okay…?"

His wife looked up in relief. "Minato…" She whispered carrying the small sleeping child in her arms.

Minato set his wife down. "Somehow I've made it this far, but I don't have much chakra left…"

He slowly stood up. "I'll stop him one way or another… There are things… I must protect…" He clenched his hand into a fist. "Precious… things…" As he said that, the large hand of the Kyuubi slammed onto the ground, shaking the surroundings. Minato turned around. "As long as I have that, I swear that I'll never give up!" He clasped his hands together, but as he was about to perform a jutsu, chains appeared out of the ground and headed towards the form of the Kyuubi, binding and bringing it to the ground. As his shock disappeared, he heard his wife coughing violently. "Kushina!"

She was breathing heavily; the amount of effort was unbelievable for one who just survived a tailed beast extraction. "I'll take… the Kyuubi with me… to my death so that the… interval until he emerges… again is delayed. It's all I can manage right now with my… remaining chakra to help you two… Thanks for everything up until now."

Minato shook his head in the negative. He grabbed her shoulders, "Kushina… you're the one who made me Hokage, the one who made me a man. And made me this child's father, and yet I'm still useless."

His wife laughed weakly. "Don't look so sad. I… I'm happy… I'm loved by you, Plus… today is the child's birthday, so most of all… if I were to imagine me alive… and our future together as a family of three… then… I can't see us being anything but happy… But I wish that I could have seen Naruto grow up…"

Minato stood up rubbing his arm against his eyes. "Kushina, there's no need for you to die to kill the Kyuubi. Preserve what little of your chakra that remains for your reunion with Naruto. I'm going to seal the rest of your chakra inside Naruto. It'll be part of a Hakke Fuuin. And I'll take the Kyuubi with me… with the sealing jutsu I can do, not being a jinchuuriki… Reaper Death Seal."

"But that jutsu results in the caster's death!"

"One more thing. I'm only sealing away half of the Kyuubi. With this, we can seal half of the Kyuubi forever. And the other half will go to… Naruto using the Hakke Fuin. There are two things I am certain of as of today. The masked man who attacked you will bring catastrophe to the world… and this child… will stop him."

Minato stood up and clasped his hands into the serpent seal, the ghostly figure of the Shinigami appearing behind him. The Kyuubi stood up with as much strength as it could. Seeing the Shinigami, its eyes widened in fear and his struggles increased to escape.

* * *

Same time Mt. Myoboku

The Great Toad Sage is the oldest and most respected toad of all the inhabitants of Mount Myoboku. He was alive even when the Rikudo Sennin was still roaming the earth, giving him a prophecy that a mischievous blue-eyed boy will unite the tailed beasts and change the world.

As of now, it seems as if the old toad was asleep…

But things are not as they seem.

Gamamaru's eyes opened in shock. His usual squinting was nowhere to be seen. The old toad panicked as the toad elders Fukasaku and Shima entered in a rush.

Fukasaku stood forward, "Great Toad Sage, what is the matter?"

Gamamaru's eyes, still opened in panic and shock said, "The child of prophecy! He is leaving this world!"

* * *

Back in a Forested Area

A pale hand went through Minato's body as it launched itself at the massive beast grabbing half of it's chakra and slowly pulling it toward Minato. Once close slowly went inside Minato's body and was sealed, showing the engraved marking of Minato's stomach. Minato slumped slightly as he felt the pressure of the chakra and winced. 'Such heavy Chakra' He looked up and noticed the size of the Kyuubi now was half it's original size,. He had to act fast.

Minato Quickly made hand signs once more and summoned what looked like a ceremonial bed and quickly placed his child down on the soft cushioning. He could hear the coughing and the heavy wheezing from Kushina and looked back for a quick second. "Kushina!"

It was a short amount of time before Minato realized that the chakra chains binging the Kyuubi were loosening. He and Kushina looked at to see the massive claw aiming towards his and Kushina's beloved child. Both rushed in front of the beast hand and as quick they were pierced from behind, holding the claw to slow it's momentum, sighing in both pain and relief that it barely reaches their child.

"Y-you!" cursed the Kyuubi as he snarled once the chains tightened around him once more.

"I said I was the father... Dying for my child is my right."

"I'm the mother... It's my right too..."

They both took a couple seconds to look at their child, still sleeping peacefully.

Kushina bowed her head and slowly gave a nod as she coughed a little, "This is the first time... I've lost an argument against you. It proves how serious you are..." She said quietly.

Minato nodded as he smiled "Thanks, Kushina." He looked up at the Shinigami and looked back at Kushina. "I'm about to perfrom the Hakke Fuin and store what chakra we have left…So it's best to say what you have to say now" he said smiling at his wife.

"My child... Don't be a picky eater... Eat a lot... And grow big and strong. Make sure to bathe everyday... And stay warm... Don't stay up late... Get plenty of sleep..."

She smiles, "Plus... Make friends... You don't need tons okay? Just a few that you can trust. And... Your mom was bad at this... But study hard... And learn your ninjutsu...! Just... Everyone is good at some things and not at others... So even if things don't go too well... Don't get depressed, okay? At the Academy, respect your teachers and those senior to you..."

She takes a breath, "Oh... And be extra careful about loaning and borrowing money. Make sure you save money from your mission pay... And don't start drinking until you're old enough... And... make sure to be wary of Jiraiya."

She clenches her fist, "Baby, there will be plenty of hard and painful times ahead. Take care of yourself... Make sure to have dreams... And the confidence to make those dreams come true! So much! There is so... so much... so much more for me to tell you! So much more I want to tell you. I want to be with you longer! ...I love you."

Tears start escaping, "I'm sorry, I talked too much."

Minato shook his head. "No... It's all right." He stares at his child.

"...My child... My words to you as your father..." He smiles. "Is ditto to what your loquacious mother said..."

'Hakke Fuuin'

A bright light appears as the Kyuubi is once again sealed. The parents bodies fall to the ground, when the Shinigami appears with an orange bundle in his arms. Kushina opens her eyes weakly and says, "Don't hurt her..."

The Shinigami doesn't answer. Instead he places a newborn child next to the daughter of the slowly dying couple and vanishes. Kushina uses the last of her strength to see what the death god has done and sees a blonde child almost similar to Minato, only with a chubby face... Like hers... She gasps and slowly reaches her less bloodied hand out to stroke the cheek of her daughter and then the boy. She smiles. 'At least... They won't be alone...' She thinks before her hand falls slack and the Third and his Anbu arrive, not seeing the note next to the boy's blanket.


	2. Chapter 2: Making a Friend

**The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter 2: Making a Friend**

"Where am I?" asked a rather perturbed Naruto. All around him was a barren wasteland; but if he looked far enough, he saw three people fighting. With nothing better to do, the eleven year old boy ran as fast as his legs could carry him towards the battle scene.

Eventually when he arrived at the scene his mouth dropped open in shock and his eyes widened comically. There were two large meteor like objects stacked on top of each other on one side of the area, while what was left of a giant tree stump was on the other. To top it all off, there was a glowing orange guy with sphere like objects hovering around his back and a guy that looked like that bastard Sasuke with creepy eyes. They weren't the creepiest thing because the guy they were fighting looked like an old man with weird purple eyes.

Right when he was about to shout out, the orange guy opened his mouth to say something, but no sound escaped his lips. Instead, many clones of the orange guy appeared and started to rush the old dude. The next thing Naruto knew, the old guy raised his hands and an invisible wall appeared, the clones disappeared and the two remaining ninja were sent flying back by an invisible force. The old guy then turned his head towards Naruto and stuck out his hand. The next thing Naruto knew, he was being pulled towards the hand and was about to be stabbed by a black rod that appeared suddenly. He closed his eyes wishing to wake up.

"Ahhhh!" Naruto woke up and fell out of his bed managing to tangle himself in the mess of his sheets and blanket. After a few minutes of attempting to get out of the death trap he got himself into, he tried to remember what made him fall out of bed like that. It was a nightmare, that much was obvious, but he couldn't remember a thing. He looked towards his clock. 8:30 a.m.

Naruto got up and stretched. He had roughly an hour and a half until he was supposed to be at the Academy. He even had enough time to go and meet Choji and Shikamaru for breakfast. With that thought in mind, he rushed to change out of his nightclothes and into his usual orange jumpsuit. Without a second thought, he ran out the door and locked it behind him as he made his way down his stairs.

Right when he reached the last flight of stairs, he tripped but made an 'amazing recovery'. He looked around to see if anyone saw his blunder. Seeing no one, he walked away casually before sprinting off, knowing that Choji wouldn't leave him any food if he was late.

* * *

Iruka Umino stood up from his chair stretching his legs while waiting for the rest of his students to arrive so he could start his daily lesson. Iruka is a man of average height and has brown hair that is kept in a ponytail. The most noticeable feature was a scar that runs across the bridge of his nose. He wears the standard Konoha shinobi outfit complete with forehead protector, sandals, and flak jacket.

He sighed and looked at the clock. 'Five minutes until class starts.' He thought to himself.

Right as he finished is train of thought, he could hear what could be described as a stampede going on outside. He realized that he was right next to the door and rather skillfully, in his opinion, avoided the imminent danger that was approaching. Right as he left the path of the doorway; two of his other students, Sakura and Ino, entered the room at nearly the same time.

"FIRST!" they both shouted. They then rounded on each other, "NO, I WAS FIRST! NO YOU WEREN'T, I WAS!"

Iruka did the only thing he could do, put on a pair of earplugs, and wait the situation out. He also noticed that right when the bell rang, Naruto entered the classroom and took a seat next to Sasuke Uchiha. Iruka winced at the bad choice. Once Naruto sat down, the two bickering girls turned their attention to him and marched on to engage him in 'friendly' conversation. Iruka couldn't hear what was going on, but from what he saw, he figured that the two girls 'convinced' Naruto to move. Naturally, Naruto moved. Smart choice.

* * *

Naruto swore as he sat down in a different seat that every day, those two girls, if you could call them that, were growing more and more 'modest and ladylike' as each day passed. He saw Iruka-sensei remove his earplugs_, '__lucky bastard'_, and started to call for attendance. First he called out Shino Aburame. Shino was tall, taller than the rest of his fellow students and wore a sea green jacket with a high upturned collar. He had bushy, brown hair and glasses which covered his eyes. Shino was a calm and collected sort of guy and he had bugs on him the entire time which lead to him being rather unsocial due to others being afraid of a 'bug man.'

Next, he called out Chouji Akimichi. Chouji has spiky, brown hair, swirl marks on his cheeks, and like other members of the Akimichi clan; a more big-boned physique. He wore black shorts, a long white scarf, a short sleeved, green haori, over a white shirt with the kanji for food on it. He also wore bandages on his arms and legs. The Akimichi was Naruto's friend ever since the first day of the Academy. Naruto found a couple of other students call Chouji fat and stood up for the guy and next thing he knew, he found a friend in the big-boned boy.

After calling some other names that Naruto couldn't really bring himself to care about, his attention was brought to Kiba Inuzuka. Kiba had a feral appearance, like most other Inuzuka members, and had messy brown hair, sharp black eyes and vertical slit like pupils along with pronounced canine teeth and nails. Kiba's most noticeable feature was his distinctive red fang markings that were found on his cheeks. He wore dark grayish pants reaching his calves and a gray, hooded fur lined coat, with the hood on. Kiba was loud, annoying, a braggart, and his dog was no better… except when it came to smell. Kiba was good at Taijutsu and his sense of smell was good, but he was too overconfident and cocky. Not his problem. If they ever fought, Naruto was sure he could take him.

After Kiba, the next worthwhile name was another good friend of his, Shikamaru Nara. The Nara had shoulder length black hair tied in a spiky ponytail which looked similar to a pineapple when compared and narrow brown eyes. He wore rather plain clothes consisting of a green lined mesh T-shirt under a short sleeve grey jacket and brown pants with blue sandals. Other than being one of the laziest people in the world, he was pretty smart. He and Shikamaru were playing shogi once, and when Naruto put him in a corner, Shikamaru miraculously turned the situation around, unintentionally revealing his intelligence.

Next, was one of the two remaining Uchiha left in Konoha. The first was Satsumi Uchiha. She had onyx eyes and dark brown shoulder length hair which could be mistaken for black. She wore a navy blue, short sleeved shirt with a slightly high collar with the Uchiha crest on her back and short gray shorts. Unlike her brother, she was rather cheerful and didn't shun everyone and brood all day. Sasuke, on the other hand, is one bonafide bastard. He also wore the traditional Uchiha clothing with his collar being slightly higher and shorts longer. Sasuke always acts so 'cool', shows off all the time, and looks down on everyone except his sister, and this one certain girl.

"Natsuki Uzumaki." Iruka called.

"Here." Natsuki replied.

Natsuki Uzumaki. Other than sharing a last name, which he could probably accredit to the once feared Uzumaki clan before they were destroyed, they had nothing in common. While Naruto was decent in the shinobi arts, she was as good as Sasuke. Luckily, she wasn't an asshat, degrading everyone like Sasuke.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI!"

Naruto shot out of his seat and fell onto the floor, his legs comically sticking up into the air. Everyone laughed at his misfortune while he grumbled a "Here" while he got back in his seat. Iruka smirked and called out the last person, Ino Yamanaka. She was just like Kiba: loud, annoying, and obnoxious. She was also very bossy. He didn't like her very much. Iruka, after calling roll, started their lesson, which was about Genjutsu.

Naruto couldn't really care about Genjutsu because he sucked at it. He found Ninjutsu much more favorable with Taijutsu coming to a close second. After all, who doesn't like burning someone to a crisp after kicking them into oblivion? Eventually, Naruto became so bored that he fell asleep.

Naruto woke up in Konoha. He guessed it was the leaf village because he saw the Hokage Monument, but this one had five faces on it. But for some reason, dust was blocking his view of everything else so he had to wait for the dust to clear. All of a sudden, he felt a rather large earthquake, or what seemed like one. When he turned his head, he saw three large toads and a smaller toad sitting on the middle toads head. And on top of the smaller toads head was… Him?

Naruto was woken up when an elbow belonging to Natsuki Uzumaki hit his side.

She looked at him with an impassive stare. "Wake up, it's time to go outside."

Naruto rubbed his side. "Okay, okay, no need to inflict harm on my body."

She snorted and left.

After totally kicking some person's ass in a taijutsu fight, and actually hitting the target seven out of ten times, another day at the Academy was gone. Naruto, quite hungry after doing surprisingly well, considered going to get some ramen. He usually went to eat with Choji and Shikamaru at a barbeque place, but was feeling in a ramen mood.

As he was walking, he noticed some of the villagers giving him quizzical looks, and some others smiling at him. Weird. He walked by a window shiny enough to give off a good reflection, and examined himself. He had spiky blonde hair, a lighter and more vibrant color than a Yamanaka's. He also had violet-blue eyes, which looked more like a light shade of purple than anything. His face, while a bit round, was clear of any blemishes or scars and he was at a fairly good height of five foot for a twelve year old. He wore an orange and black jumpsuit which he bought after he first saw it, ignoring the shopkeeper's odd stare. He shrugged his shoulders and walked until he reached the ramen stand.

When he entered the stand, he immediately went for the stool closest to the entrance. He almost didn't see the person sitting on the stool and almost crashed into her. When he regained his bearings, he noticed that the girl didn't even notice his blunder, and was eating her ramen without a care in the world. When she finished, Naruto immediately recognized her as Natsuki. He decided not to make a big deal about her taking his seat and took a seat two to the right from her. She seemed to finally notice him, but didn't attempt to make any sort of conversation. After ordering miso with pork, he sat and observed his classmate.

Her hair was a light red color, which she wore in a ponytail that comes down to the small of her back. She also wore a beige battle kimono and short shorts meant for athleticism. She also wore black thigh high socks and her black boot-like sandals that went to her calves. He continued to stare even after he received his ramen. Apparently, she noticed him staring at her and she called him out for it.

"Any reason why you're staring at me, Naruto?" She asked as small smirk appeared on her face.

Naruto snaps into attention and blushes. He figured telling the truth would help him better than lying and after scratching the back of his head, replies, "I, uh, like the color of your hair."

Her eyes widened before she blushed but turned her head back to her new bowl. She began eating at a faster pace than before. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and began to eat his ramen. What he didn't notice was the smirk the ramen waitress was giving him, or the amused look the cook had as he unintentionally heard the conversation.

After eating five more bowls, he decided not to waste the rest of his rent money and left the stand. He was so content with his meal that he almost missed someone calling his name. He turned around and saw Natsuki catching up to him, so he slowed down in his walking speed.

"Man, you really walk fast." She said catching her breath.

Naruto shrugged. "I never realized. So what's up?"

She motioned towards the Hokage Monument. "Wanna go to the monument?"

After a moment of thought, he replied, "Why not."

What not either of them noticed was the glare being sent at Naruto by a pale eyed girl hiding behind a tall post.

When they reached the Hokage Monument, the time of day was an hour to sunset. Naruto motioned towards the head of the Fourth Hokage, which Natsuki agreed to, saying that was her original idea. When they sat on the Fourth's head, they had a comfortable silence where they both enjoyed the gentle wind that passed by. Soon Naruto got restless and asked, "So why did you bring me here?"

She looked at him for a moment before looking back over the village. "I wanted to thank you for complimenting my hair. No one has done that before. People only make fun of it." She said.

Naruto looked at her hair, which in the colors of the sunset looked even better than before. "Why would they make fun of the color, it's a pretty color."

Natsuki snorted. "I never thought I'd hear the day where a boy would say 'pretty' in a sentence." She said smirking at him.

Naruto blushed and crossed his arms with a huff, getting her to give out a small laugh. They watched the rest of the sunset without any interruptions, only not seeing the even more powerful glare Naruto was receiving from the same pale-eyed girl.

When the sun finally set, Naruto said, "The sunset from this spot is always the best." To which Natsuki agreed to. Suddenly, a thought hit Naruto.

"Hey Natsuki," he asked. She looked at him as if telling him to continue.

"Do you think we can do this tomorrow?" Naruto tried not getting his hopes up, but today was actually enjoyable. Natsuki gave this some thought before smiling. "Sure, why not." With that, she jumped off the head and onto the stairwell. She turned back, "See you tomorrow."

Naruto only grinned.

* * *

**Thanks for reading this chapter and i'm sorry for not updating this when I had the chance. I got lazy but I promise the next chapter will be out soon. Also, make sure to Review. It makes me know that someone actually wants me to continue.**


	3. Chapter 3: Graduation and a New Jutsu

**The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter 3: Graduation and a New Jutsu**

"-that is your mission, now get to it."

"Hai!"

Without another moment, the three Jounin were off completing whatever mission they received.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, once known as the Shinobi no Kami, sat behind his desk and sighed. He wore the official robes of the Hokage which consisted of the customary hat and haori, along with a red, full length kimono that was tied back with a white sash.

The Sandaime looked towards the open window, "You can come in now Jiraiya."

A chuckle was heard from outside the office and from the open window came a tall man with waist-length spiky white hair that was tied into a ponytail. The man also had two shoulder-length bangs that framed both sides of his face and red lines that ran down from his eyes. On top of his head was a horned forehead protector with the kanji for 'Oil'. For clothes, he wore a red haori that had two yellow circles on each side, while beneath it were green short shirt kimono and matching pants; where mesh armor was shown from the sleeves and legs. He had hand guards and wooden sandals otherwise known as geta. The most eye-catching thing was the large scroll on his back.

"Heh, seems like I still can't hide from you old man." Jiraiya smirked.

Hiruzen allowed a smile small at his old student's jibe. "Nor will you ever, Jiraiya, nor will you ever." The Hokage's smile disappeared as he stared at his student in all seriousness, "What have you discovered, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya's smirk also disappeared as he took a seat across from his old sensei. "You told me to find out more about the child you found that day of the Kyuubi attack."

Hiruzen nodded as he opened his desk drawer and pulled out a folder which contained three sheets of paper, the most noticeable; a faded piece of paper. "Yes, a note was found with the child when we arrived at the sealing area."

Jiraiya looked at the note in confusion. "Why haven't I heard about this yet?"

Hiruzen rolled his eyes and handed over the note to Jiraiya. When Jiraiya looked on with a confused look, the Hokage said, "Read it aloud."

Jiraiya did as he was told. "'This child's name is Naruto Uzumaki. Raise him well.' What is that supposed to mean? Raise him well? What about his parents?"

Hiruzen looked out his window and onto the village. "I do not know, however, I presume that his parents died during the attack. Also, I personally did a genetic test with the Yondaime's daughter and they do have a similar genetic code. Seeing as Kushina only gave birth to one child before her death, this means that Naruto must be a relative of the Uzumaki."

Jiraiya nodded. "That seems to be the case, but in this other piece of paper; the one with all the academy's records on the child, it shows that Naruto has blonde hair and not the typical red hair the Uzumaki's were known for. Was one of his parents blonde?"

Hiruzen nodded. "That seems like the case, but, if you look closer and in more detail, who does this boy look like exactly."

Jiraiya looked closer and scanned the last piece of paper, which was a photo of the young boy in question. His eyes suddenly widened and his head shot up to meet his sensei's. "He looks very similar to Minato when he was Naruto's age! But how is this possible?"

Hiruzen took out his pipe and began to prepare it. "As we know so far, Minato was a war orphan. He could have had a brother or a sister that was lost and they could've met one of the surviving Uzumaki that weren't killed. This is one explanation."

Jiraiya nodded. "So is there another explanation, or is that your only one?"

Hiruzen stood up and walked to his window, pipe in hand as he stared at the village he was entrusted with. He looked back and said, "My only other explanation to all this and the most unlikely…" He took a long drag from his pipe.

"Is that he is Minato and Kushina's other child."

**(LineBreak) (LineBreak)(LineBreak)(LineBreak) (LineBreak)(LineBreak)(LineBreak) **

Naruto sprinted as he made his way to the Academy. He couldn't be late for the Graduation Exam. He ran passed civilians and jumped over food carts as he made his way to his last day in school.

"There it is! My ticket out of school and into the shinobi world!" He pumped his legs with a miniscule amount of chakra, in his opinion, and blasted off the ground leaving a small crack in the ground the size of his foot. What he didn't see was red haired girl about to open the door. His eyes widened as he crashed into Natsuki sending both of them to the floor, or so he thought. In the split second he crashed into her, she used the Kawarimi no jutsu (Substitution Jutsu) and switched herself with a nearby broom. He then froze when he had his left arm behind his back and a kunai around his neck. One second, two seconds… When Natsuki realized she had her kunai at her friend's neck, she let go and helped him to his feet.

"Damn it! That hurts you know?" Naruto said as he rolled his arm in a circle to relieve the pain. Natsuki on the other hand just smirked as she brushed a stray piece of hair to the side.

"Then that means you should get stronger to avoid this next time. I can't be there to help you all the time."

Naruto growled as he opened the door to the classroom. "There won't be a next time 'cuz that's not happening agai-"

He would've finished his sentence if the ground suddenly didn't start shaking. They both looked outside and saw the large dust trail in the distance which was slowly growing larger and larger. In a few seconds they could see both Ino and Sakura sprinting towards the Academy glaring at each other. Right when the two distracted girls made their way to the top of the stairway and close to the classroom, Naruto pushed Natsuki into the classroom as he was trampled by the girls as they crashed into the doorframe trying to get in. Once they got in the room, they argued over who would sit next to Sasuke while Naruto picked himself off the floor and limped towards his seat.

When he sat down he had a bandage put on a cut on his head. When he looked at who put it on, he saw Natsuki smiling at him as she threw the casing away. Suddenly, she flicked him on the forehead.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Naruto said rubbing the red mark on his abused forehead.

Natsuki narrowed her eyes and her lips made a thin line. "For pushing me out of the way when you know we both could've gotten out the way in time. Idiot."

Naruto smiled sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away. "Yeah, sorry. Just instinct."

She rolled her eyes and pointed to the front of the room. "Class is starting. Pay attention."

Both missed the glare sent towards Naruto by a young Hyuuga heir.

Iruka and Mizuki both walked into the classroom nearly the same time. Iruka through the door and Mizuki from the window but disguised it as a cloud of smoke as to not incur the wrath of Iruka. They both walked up to the center of the class and stood by the desk.

"As you all know…" Iruka started. "Today is the day you all have your graduation exams. I wish you all good luck. We'll start with the written portion of the test first. Mizuki will hand out the papers. Once you receive yours, you may begin. You have one hour until the second portion of the test."

(One Hour Later)

After cheating for most of the answers, Naruto flipped his paper over and waited for Iruka to call for time. Right when Naruto finished his train of thought, Iruka stood up and told everyone to put their pencils down and to line up in alphabetical order for the jutsu portion of the test.

"Okay, for this test the jutsu needed will be the Henge (Transformation) since we forgot to review it one last time like we did for the other jutsu." Iruka said.

Naruto maintained a calm façade on the outside, but on the inside was leaping in joy and flicking off the words; Bunshin no jutsu (Clone jutsu). 'Hah! Suck it clones! Finally I get a lucky break and we don't have to do the shitty clone jutsu!' he mentally yelled.

Name after name, person after person, boy after girl, each and every single student seemed to have passed the second portion and came out of the room with a new forehead protector. Of course some failed but Naruto could care less. He was about to pass. Just a few more names and then he would pass.

Finally, his turn came when Sasuke came up to him and said, "Oi, Uzumaki. It's your turn."

Naruto sped into the room faster than the rest of the students could see and stood in front of Iruka and Mizuki tapping his foot nervously and excitedly. Iruka coughed into his hand to get his student's attention.

"Okay Naruto, like I said before, just use the Henge to transform into something believable."

Naruto nodded and calmed down slightly. He put his hands together and thought of a person to impersonate. 'Hmm, people most likely transformed into sensei to get some extra credit, so he's out. Don't wanna transform into Mizuki, so let's try…'

With a poof of smoke, instead of Naruto there was Sasuke Uchiha giving his usual condescending smirk. "Hn." He grunted.

Iruka looked over the Henge with a critical eye making sure there were no imperfections. When he saw none, he leaned back into his chair and smiled. "Good job Naruto. You Pass."

Naruto couldn't keep the transformation any longer as it was dispelled as he ran forward to receive his newly earned forehead protector. Laughing like a child receiving a present, he grabbed it and ran out of the testing room with a gigantic smile on his face, ignoring everything that happened afterwards.

The smile didn't leave his face even after the school day was finished. Once the students were allowed to leave, he was the first one out. Right when he was about to jump onto a rooftop, he was stopped by Mizuki.

"Hey Naruto, do you mind following me for a minute?" Mizuki asked with a disarming smile.

Naruto simply nodded and followed Mizuki to the top of the Academy. When Naruto finally caught up with Mizuki, he walked up to his former sensei and asked, "Why did you bring me here sensei?"

Mizuki looked at Naruto with a serious look. "Naruto, I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but I have to tell you that you almost failed."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. He almost failed? How? When he voiced his concerns, Mizuki just waved his hand.

"You missed almost too many questions on the written portion of the exam. In fact, if you missed one more, you would've failed." He said. "But I have an extra credit assignment for you just in case you did fail, so what about it. Want to take a chance and fail, or do you want to make sure you don't fail? The choice is yours."

Naruto ran up to Mizuki without a second thought, "I'll take it, give me the extra credit!"

Mizuki smirked. "Okay so here's what you've got to do…"

**(LineBreak)(LineBreak)(LineBreak)(LineBreak)(LineBreak)(LineBreak)(LineBreak)**

Naruto jumped from branch to branch looking to the place Mizuki said to meet at.

(Flashback Start)

"_Okay so here's what you've got to do. To receive extra credit you need to borrow the scroll hidden away in the Hokage Tower. The scroll is most likely the largest one and once you get the scroll, meet me at a small cabin a half hour away from the village in the nearby forest." Mizuki said._

_Naruto closed his eyes to process the information. '_Hokage Tower, largest scroll, small cabin…'

_He gave a large smile. "No worries sensei! I'll get the job done!"_

_Mizuki was about to leave when a sudden thought came to mind. _'Damn. The Hokage might stop him before he gets the scroll and my plan will be ruined.'

_He turned towards Naruto and said, "Oh, and for extra challenge, many shinobi like the Hokage himself will try to stop you. It's to see if you have what it takes to become a shinobi."_

_Naruto saluted his teacher. "No worries, I got this."_

(Flashback End)

He saw the rendezvous point and landed there. Naruto looked around for Mizuki. After not seeing him, Naruto guessed that his teacher was giving him extra time just in case he didn't have the scroll yet.

"Okay I've got the scroll and haven't met any shinobi who want to stop me yet. I guess I have to wait."

So he waited for a couple minutes before he became a little restless. "Aw man! What's taking Mizuki so long to get here! I've got stuff to do tomorrow!"

He was about to lie down and close his eyes when a sudden thought came to mind. _'Wait, why would Mizuki have me get this scroll. What's so special about it?'_

Naruto picked the scroll up and opened it to the very first thing he saw. He squinted his eyes to make out the text. "Kage… Bunshin? Kage-Bunshin (Shadow Clone)? What so special about this jutsu?"

After giving it some thought he decided to learn it. "After all, if Mizuki is going to keep me waiting, why not keep myself busy?"

(Half an Hour Later)

"Heh…" Naruto smirked. He got that stupid clone jutsu down. He felt exhausted, something he rarely felt unless he was giving the task his upmost best. He was about to look inside the scroll again when from out of the trees, Iruka appeared.

"Naruto!"

Iruka was breathing heavily. He had just heard from Mizuki that Naruto had stolen the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage Tower. How a newly graduated student had bypassed the entire security of the leaf and stolen one of its most important objects was confusing to think about. How Naruto had done it, he had no clue. Instead of meeting with all of the other Chuunin and Jounin to discuss what to do with the matter, he had left to find his student before any others could. Unknown to most, Iruka was actually once in the Anbu. The former Anbu was quite exceptional when it came to tracking, which he was the leader of before he became a teacher at the Academy. So using his tracking skills, he found where his student had gone off to.

After jumping from branch to branch he saw his target. Seeing his student looking a little worn out with a satisfied smirk on his face gave Iruka a small smile which he quickly hid.

"Naruto!"

Said boy jumped in fright and turned around, rolling the scroll up and placing it on his back. "Hah! I found you Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka could feel a vein pulsing on the side of his head when he heard the ludicrous answer his former student gave him. "No you idiot, I found you! What were you thinking! Stealing the Forbidden Scroll? What made you think of doing something as stupid as that?!"

Naruto's smirk vanished and in its place a look of fear appeared. "W-what do you mean stealing? Mizuki-sensei told me to get this for extra credit. And look, I even managed to learn a jutsu from this scroll too!"

Iruka looked flabbergasted. Extra credit? Mizuki? Learning a jutsu from the scroll? He was about to comment when he heard the high-pitched sound of blades cutting air from behind him.

"Naruto watch out!" He pushed himself out of the way, Naruto following him as a large shuriken pierced the ground where they were standing.

"Good job Naruto! Now, hand over the scroll so we can give you that extra credit." Mizuki said as he appeared standing on top of a tree branch.

As Naruto started to walk up to Mizuki, Iruka immediately understood what was going on. "No! Naruto don't give him the scroll!"

Mizuki's gentle smile vanished as Naruto stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Iruka confused. He glared at Iruka before trying another smile at Naruto. "Don't listen to Iruka, Naruto. Just give me the scroll so we can go back to the village and you can get your extra credit."

Iruka ran up to Naruto and placed his hand on his student's shoulder. Naruto, startled looked up at him and said, "What's going on? Why are you saying 'don't give him the scroll' while Mizuki-sensei is saying 'give me the scroll'?"

Apparently losing his patience, Mizuki lost his smile and glared at the two below him. "You just had to ruin everything didn't you Iruka?"

Iruka just kept his glare while subtly putting Naruto safely behind him. "I wouldn't have had to ruin anything if you didn't trick Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened before he clenched his fists. He was tricked? Was he going to fail or worse be put to die for stealing something important from the village? His thoughts were banished when Iruka, noticing his student's demeanor go from shocked to sadness, gave a reassuring smile and flick to the forehead.

"Don't worry you little brat. I'll make sure you'll be alright." Iruka said with a teasing smile.

Not knowing what else to do, Naruto smiled back rubbing his forehead. Mizuki rolled his eyes before spitting on the ground. "That display was so touching it makes me sick! I'll just kill the both of you and take the scroll for myself! Starting with you, Naruto!"

Without another word, Mizuki took his other large shuriken and started spinning it on his left hand. Iruka seeing a chance, turned slightly towards Naruto. "Naruto, look. I know you may be a little shocked but I need you to stay behind me until I deflect that shuriken. Then I need you to run and get some help. Do you understand?"

Naruto didn't have a chance to reply as Mizuki released his shuriken at them. Iruka pushed Naruto out of the way and jumped up to engage Mizuki only to see Mizuki throw another shuriken straight at him.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu)!" Mizuki yelled. One shuriken became ten as Iruka closed his eyes for the inevitable. Instead of feeling many blades to pierce his body, he heard multiple 'poofs' as if something burst into smoke. Opening his eyes, he saw Mizuki with a shocked expression and Naruto standing in front of him with seemingly no injuries.

Mizuki pointed at Naruto and started stuttering, "That's impossible! No ordinary Genin has enough chakra for the Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" It's unheard of!"

Naruto just smirked. "This jutsu took me forever to get down!" Naruto's smirk turned into a frown as he stared at Mizuki. "You almost killed Iruka-sensei."

Mizuki just stared at Naruto disbelievingly. "Of course I did! It's what we do you dumbass! And now I know the bigger threat is you!" He said as he jumped at Naruto who pushed Iruka out of the way.

"Naruto!" Iruka yelled once he regained his balance only to see his student get stabbed in the stomach by Mizuki. Iruka couldn't believe his eyes when he saw his student cough up blood and start to fall down to the ground only to disappear into a cloud of smoke.

"Huh?" Mizuki was sure he killed the damn brat only to get kicked in the head twice by two Naruto clones.

"Take this!" Naruto shouted as he flared his chakra and the entire forest was filled with Naruto clones.

Mizuki could only stare in shock as the clones started to jump at him baring their fists threateningly. All he saw was orange before the world turned black.

Iruka could only watch the beatdown with slight pride as his student walked up to him and said, "So Iruka-sensei, do I still get extra credit?"

**A.N.: Sorry for the long wait, but here's the chapter! The next one will come out in September since I got to get back into waking up early and sleeping earlier. Stupid Habits. But the next chapter will be longer focusing on Teams and the First Mission. If any of you want a certain team, just PM me and/or leave me a Review. See you later.**


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